Tag Archives: Blake Griffin

Jamal Crawford, on film session: ‘You have to see and hear the truth’

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Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

The Clippers on Sunday talked about the tough film session they had the day after they lost 96-88 at Moda Center on Saturday in Portland in their first-round playoff series with the Trail Blazers.

Blake Griffin said, “It was a pretty awful film session.” Chris Paul referred to it as “very emotional.”

But they both agreed it was a good thing, at the end of the day. Jamal Crawford concurred at the morning shootaround ahead of Game 4 on Monday night at Moda Center.

“You have to see and hear the truth,” Crawford said. “The camera doesn’t lie, obviously. You have to see the truth.”

Is it tough to take?

“At times,” he said. “But, I mean, it’s the truth, so it’s better for us. As a competitor, you’re line, ‘Dang.’ But it’s much better for us to watch it.”

The Clippers, who lead the series 2-1, led 85-81 with 3:52 to play Saturday before being outscored 15-3.

Blake Griffin wants to be more aggressive against Blazers in Game 4 on Monday night

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Clippers Trail Blazers Basketball

Blake Griffin of the Clippers is guarded by Portland’s Al-Farouq Aminu during the first half of the Trail Blazers’ 96-88 victory Saturday over the Clippers in Portland/AP photo by Craig Mitchelldyer

 

Blake Griffin played very well in Game 1 of the Clippers’ first-round series against Portland. He scored 19 points on 5 of 10 shooting and also grabbed 12 rebounds and doled out six assists in his team’s 115-95 victory. He wasn’t as good in the Clippers’ 102-81 Game 2 victory, scoring 12 points on 4 of 12 from the field; he also had nine rebounds and four assists.

Then came Saturday’s Game 3 in Portland, when he really struggled with his shot. He scored 12 points while shooting just 5 of 16. He had seven rebounds, but none on the offensive end. He had four assists and two steals, but he also had a crucial turnover down the stretch, when the Clippers were outscored 15-3 over the final three minutes, 52 seconds of Portland’s 96-88 win.

If the Clippers are to have any chance of advancing deep into the playoffs, it figures Griffin will have to be at least close to being himself on a consistent basis. Having missed 45 consecutive games before playing five of the final seven in the regular season, that won’t be easy.

Griffin on Sunday afternoon talked about what he needs to do when the Clippers play the Trail Blazers in Game 4 on Monday night, again at Moda Center in Portland.

“I watched the game last night and again this morning in film, so I have several things that I want to change and do a better job at,” he said at the team’s hotel. “But a lot of it’s just aggressiveness, you know, not settling – taking open shots, but not settling.”

The Clippers lead the series 2-1. After Game 4, Game 5 will be back at Staples Center on Wednesday night.

Blake Griffin says ‘awful film session’ revealed plenty about Saturday’s Game 3 loss at Portland

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Clippers Trail Blazers Basketball

Blake Griffin guards Mason Plumlee of the Trail Blazers during the first half of Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. Portland won 96-88 and Plumlee grabbed 21 rebounds/AP photo by Craig Mitchelldyer

 

The Clippers were licking their wounds Sunday after falling apart down the stretch and losing 96-88 to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Saturday at Moda Center in Portland. The Clippers lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 on Monday night back at Moda Center.

The Clippers led 85-81 with 3:52 to play and scored only three more points while giving up 15.

The Clippers held a lengthy film session at their hotel Sunday. Blake Griffin appeared rather bummed out after emerging from it.

“It was a pretty awful film session,” he said. “It wasn’t even the last two minutes, it was throughout the entire game. You know, really from the beginning, we let them get comfortable. We let them, like I said last night, do what they wanted to do and they executed, to their credit. They did what they wanted to do and we just … I thought we were careless and didn’t execute, didn’t move the ball from side to side. We didn’t do the things that made us successful in those first couple of games.”

The Clippers won Games 1 and 2 by respective scores of 115-95 and 102-81 at Staples Center.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 96-88 loss to the Trail Blazers

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Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, right, is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Portland, Ore.

Chris Paul of the Clippers is fouled by Portland’s Damian Lillard during the first half of the Trail Blazers’ 96-88 victory over the Clippers on Saturday in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland/AP photo by Craig Mitchelldyer

 

– One of the biggest reasons why the Trail Blazers won was because their outstanding guard tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum played to their capabilities after struggling in losses to the Clippers in Game 1 and Game 2. Lillard scored 32 points on 10 of 20 shooting and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. McCollum scored 27 points on 11 of 22 shooting. Each had five rebounds.

– It was more than that. For another thing, the Trail Blazers outrebounded the Clippers 56-44. Leading the way was center Mason Plumlee. He had a whopping 21 rebounds to go along with nine assists and six points. The Clippers got 16 rebounds from their center, DeAndre Jordan. Blake Griffin had only seven.

– The Clippers led 85-81 with 3:52 to play after a 3-point play by sixth-man Jamal Crawford. They scored only three points the rest of the way. During that time, the poor free-throw shooting Jordan went 1 of 6 from the free-throw line, finishing 3 of 10 from there. “Our execution was bad tonight,” coach Doc Rivers said of his team’s play down the stretch.

– This was not a good game for Griffin. The Clippers’ power forward scored 12 points and shot just 5 of 16. At times, his shot was short, hitting the front of the rim. “He just had a tough night,” Rivers said. “Again, you don’t miss three months of basketball and come back and be great.”

– As a team, the Clippers shot 40.9 percent – 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from 3-point range. Rivers gave credit to the Portland defense. “I thought they did a great job,” he said. “I think they were way more physical than us. I thought ball pressure got to us.” Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is nursing a sore left heel, shot 2 of 10.

BONUS TAKE: The loss notwithstanding, Clippers point guard Chris Paul continued his fine play. He led the Clippers with 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting, doled out nine assists and made three steals.

LASTLY: The Clippers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday night, back at Moda Center in Portland.

Portland guards lead Trail Blazers to 49-40 halftime lead over Clippers

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Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Portland guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who struggled mightily against the Clippers in the first two games of their first-round playoff series, scored a respective 16 and 17 points in the first half Saturday as the Trail Blazers took a lead of 49-40 over the Clippers into halftime in Game 3 at Moda Center in Portland. The Clippers lead the series 2-0.

Lillard shot 5 of 10, McCollum 7 of 12.

Chris Paul led the Clippers with 13 points, Blake Griffin scored eight and DeAndre Jordan had six points and nine rebounds. Sixth-man Jamal Crawford shot 2 of 8 in the half, scoring four points.

 

VIDEO: Blake Griffin shows Clippers fans he’s nearly all the way back to prime form

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The more games Blake Griffin plays, the more explosive he becomes. Griffin missed 45 consecutive games before returning April 3 to play in five of the Clippers’ final seven regular-season games. He then helped the Clippers to victories over the Portland Trail Blazers in Games 1 and 2 of their first-round playoff series at Staples Center. This sweet give-and-go between point guard Chris Paul and Griffin in Game 2 on Wednesday ended in thunderous fashion, letting Clippers fans know Griffin is nearly all the way back. Check it out: